When fantasy gets real

As the saying goes, you haven't really made it big until you're on prime time.

Fantasy football is big.

It's not big because millions of Americans are playing, it's not big because it dwarfs all the other fantasy leagues, it's big because it has invaded our psyche and embedded itself into our everyday lives.

We see pop-culture references to fantasy football in commercials, movies and in T.V. shows. fantasy football has always been a fringe joke - small filler material to make those in know laugh.

Until now.

There is not one, but two popular shows with fantasy football as the main focus. FX broadcasts the television series The League and there is the web series Fantasy Over Reality. The premise of both shows is the same - show the humor and obsession that we have with playing fantasy football in a way that is entertaining.

The similarities between the shows end there. Whereas one show, The League, is based more on humor and borderline obscene jokes; the other, Fantasy Over Reality, takes a milder, more league-based approach.

The League concerns the lives of five adults and the way that fantasy football can consume someone's life so completely. During the premier episode one of the characters, Kevin, makes a fantasy trade involving a real life criminals jail time. In the world that The League exists in the number six pick and a possible ten-year jail term can be dropped down to five-years by swapping the number one pick.

Scenarios like this populate the show. The characters' lives are always on display: Pete is splitting up with his wife, Ruxin can't get any "action" from his, Kevin is the commissioner and his wife may or may not run his team. Andre is the annoying friend who has money and is really just there because they don't have anyone better to replace him with. Taco, Kevin's brother, is everything you don't want your children to grow up to be. He's a crude, pot-smoking bum who doesn't seem to even know that he's playing in the league, despite the fact he won it one year.

Fantasy Over Reality takes a somewhat "softer" approach and forgoes the graphic language and situations of The League with an emphasis on what is actually happening between the teams. The main character is the commish, Cam Tilton, and his best friend Rhett Hayes. The league's defending champion is Rhett's wife, Andie. She has never lost to Rhett and their constant bickering about their teams playing one another is a constant source of amusement. Other characters include Cam's family - little brother, Neil, and his English cousin, Ike.

The best thing about the show is that real NFL players make cameo appearances. Maurice Jones-Drew, Mike Sims-Walker, Rashad Jennings and Andre Johnson. Matt Forte will be making an appearance in a future episode as well.

Including the players is great already but making them active characters in the show's plot is just classic. It's so good it's doubleplusgood. Rhett believes you have to find your fantasy players and give them a pep talk if you want them to perform, just like a coach does. Jones-Drew even admits to drafting himself with his first pick in his own league.

Extra kudos should be given to the guys behind Fantasy Over Reality for their viral marketing. I only found out about the show because of this.

I watched the pilot for The League and went to "Become a fan" of it on Facebook. A scant few minutes after I pressed the little button I got a message suggesting that if I liked that show I would like this other show, Fantasy Over Reality. I can only surmise that they have something set up that will automatically alert anyone who likes The League that there is another show. Is this a little sneaky? Yes. Is it absolutely brilliant? Yes.

Fantasy Over Reality also has a twitter feed that users can subscribe to @OverReality.

Shows like these could only exist and be popular in a world where fantasy football has become more than just a game that adult males play because they couldn't hack it at real football. We have embraced the "sport" and turned it into something more than a hobby. We have made it just another part of the American way of life.

UFL Says "Hello World!"

Thursday and Saturday of last week will be remembered for good football games.

No, I'm not talking about the Florida vs. LSU game. I'm not talking about the Nebraska vs. Mizzou game either.

I'm talking about the United Football League. The newest startup football league unveiled its product to the world on Thursday in the form of a nationally broadcast game. The Las Vegas Locomotives and the California Redwoods battled it out at Sam Boyd Stadium, the home of the UNLV football team. On Saturday the other two teams, the Florida Tuskers and the New York Sentinels hit the field at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. Both Florida and Las Vegas had to come from behind to win their games with Las Vegas winning 30-17 and Florida storming back to a 35-13 victory.

With any fledgling sports league there is always a certain amount of initial buzz. People are interested in the "new and shiny" things in sports and the UFL is no exception.

I am a football fan first and foremost so I decided to jump headlong into the UFL and see what it was all about.

The games are broadcast on either VS or HDNet and each game is available from the UFL's website to be watched live or streaming after the games completion. This is important to note because:

A) The UFL has picked up a national broadcast sponsor. Versus may not carry the same importance to as say ESPN or CBSSports but that doesn't matter. What matters is that the UFL is being placed in front of American football fans to be seen.

B) Having the games available live online and then streamed afterwards means I can be a fan on my own time. I have the luxury of working at a place where I can watch a lot of games on the T.V. If I have to leave before the game's over I'm stuck trying to keep up with it through my phone or a web site once I get home. With the accessibility I'm given with the games I haven't missed a down. I can watch part of the game at one time, pause it, come back later and finish it up.

Having a nice website and a broadcast is all well and good but the biggest question facing the UFL is if the product will be good. There seems to be this weird stigma that if the teams playing aren't the first-team of an NFL team or one of the BCS conference college teams that the football product is lacking. When there are NFL teams who can't score a single point that's lacking. When a quarterback is getting paid millions of dollars but can't complete anywhere close to 50 percent of his passes that's lacking.

Here's an idea, watch the game! Don't complain about the football. You're watching football, that is reason enough to enjoy it.

For people who think all the UFL is castoffs from the NFL and players that didn't get drafted just watch a game and look at the stats. The quality of players is not so much a big deal as the quality of competition. If the teams are more closely matched the game is going to be better.

Here's a quick stat comparison of the leading quarterbacks last week in the UFL and NFL.

QB A: 20-26, 225 yards, 4 tds & 1 int

QB B: 20-34, 351 yards, 2 tds

QB C: 2-17, 23 yards, 0 tds

QB D: 21-31, 226 yards, 2 tds

Each of these quarterbacks won their games. Can you guess which ones are the UFL players just by looking at the stats? Of course not. If you must know A and D are the two UFL winners over last weekend. A is Brooks Bollinger, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, and D is J.P. Losman, formerly of the Buffalo Bills. Even though they hadn't blow us all away with their performances in the NFL they each made some great passes over the weekend that helped their teams win. B and C are the two NFL players. B is Tony Romo of the Dallas Cowboys and D is Derek Anderson of the Cleveland Browns. Their stats were the best (Romo) and worst (Anderson) of a game winning quarterback for the NFL this past week. Anderson won his game 6-3 over the Bills. That was not a good football product to watch.

This isn't meant to be a competition. Nowhere has a member of the UFL stated that they are going to take on the NFL in any capacity. The best possible scenario that I can foresee would be the UFL acting as the minor league to the NFL. For whatever reason the NFL is the only major professional team sport league in the country to not have a minor league. The NHL as the AHL. The MLB has the MiLB and the NBA has the NBA-DLeague.

Will this ever actually happen? Who knows. What I do know is that the UFL is real football and if they play their cards right they can build a long lasting, successful league.

Give the new kids a chance and you might actually be a little bit impressed.

--UFL Logo from www.ufl-football.com

Revamping College Football: Part One

With the College Football season looming ever closer the inevitable debates about the current system will start to simmer until they come to a full boil in November.

Some people love the BCS system, others loathe it. Utah filed a lawsuit against the BCS in federal court even.

The guys at ESPN have already got on board and started their own scheme for revamping college ball here. Pat Forde has called for a total restructure of the system's 120 teams into a 40 team "Premier" league of sorts and an 80 team secondary league. I like the theory behind this and will definately follow the thought process and schemes they come up with over there.

Here at SASG I have another plan that I started developing in October of 2008.

As an avid rugby fan I follow the usual leagues in world rugby. There's the Guiness Premiership, Magner's League, Six Nations, Tri Nations and the World Cup. One thing I've always enjoyed about the tournaments is their points system.

In honor of my Rugby pal Raj we will call this the Kiwi System.

In rugby a team gets four points for winning the game and another bonus point if they score four or more tries. In a loss a team is still eligible for one point if the game was close and they only lost by one point.

To show how it work's we'll place two hypothetical teams together: Big State University versus Anytown College.

BSU wins one game 28-7 and earns four points for the win and the bonus point for getting four touchdowns. AC does not receive any points because the game was not lost by seven points or fewer and they did not get four or more touchdowns.

The theory with this scoring system is that regardless of wins and losses the best team will be the team that racks up the most points.

To determine a teams ranking in their conference the team with the highest points total during conference games would be first and for overall rankings the teams with the highest points totals would be first.

In the Big 12 last season all the talk come bowl time was who would play? Texas, Oklahoma and Texas Tech had identical records. They each had one loss. Oklahoma lost to Texas, Texas lost to Texas Tech and Texas Tech lost to Oklahoma.

Using the Kiwi System the conference points totals equal out to 37 points for Texas, 36 for Oklahoma and 35 for Texas Tech.

No strange Big 12 tie-breaker nonsense here, just simple cut and dry numbers and statistics.

The teams with the best scores are doing the best and will represent their conference in the bowl games.

Through August each conference's stats from last year will be tallied up and their respective place in the Kiwi System will be determined. The final result will see just how close the Kiwi System mirrored the actual season.

As SASG's first ongoing project the Kiwi System will be monitored and updated for the upcoming season as well.

Bright Future for the Boys in Black

If last night's NBA Summer League performance is any indication of how the Spurs newbies are going to perform then hopes for another championship will start to grow.

George Hill played well occasionally last season when stepping in for the injured Tony Parker. Few rookies have exploded onto the scene as Hill did - definitely none from a school of IUPUI's stature.

The 2-year veteran played like a real pro on Sunday night dropping a game high 25 points on the Hornets and more than making up for his previous Summer League debacle.

The Spurs main draft addition from Pitt, Forward DeJuan Blair, did not disappoint either. Blair grabbed 10 rebounds and netted 13 points in his pro debut and showed much of the physicality that was expected of him. The Blair that was plagued by fouls was decidedly absent from this game and Spurs staff and supporters got the Blair they wanted - the Blair who rolled Hasheem Thabeet onto his back in the NCAA Tournament.

There are still four games left to play in Las Vegas and if they new kids can manage to make a big splash in Sin City they could earn a spot on the roster this fall.

Hill has already been chosen as Parker's back-up and if Blair makes the team he would likely come off the bench behind Tim Duncan and the Spurs newest free-agent acquisition Anotion McDyess.

--Photo from NBA.com

Happy Father's Day

I'll never forget the first time I watched sports with my dad. I was maybe two or three and it was a NFL game: Houston Oilers vs. someone I don't remember. What I do remember was how enjoyable it was so spend some quality time with my dad.

As I got older I watched more and more sports with my dad and through that we developed a bond that many young boys develop with their fathers. I looked forward to any game that was on the T.V. Through my dad I learned what the difference between a 3-pointer and field goal was. I learned what would later become the basis of my sports writing.

A lot of people envision the world of sports as a waste of time or just something to watch on T.V. when a good show wasn't on.

I learned how sports held many great lessons about life. In life and in sports their are winners and their are losers. The winners are not always the ones who put the most points on the scoreboard and the losers are not always the ones walking to the locker room with their heads down.

Sports gives us a clear glimpse into the power of the human spirit.

We can see the paralyzed high school player make a comeback and play Division I ball.

There's an uncanny inspiration with sports that affects everyone.

Watching all those games with my dad showed me how to take the good and the bad that comes with life and how to adapt to all the changes that life has.

When I look back over the years and remember all the great moments I had with my dad I always have to smile. I'll never forget being in Rosenblat Stadium for LSU's College World Series victory. I'll never forget seeing a Nebraska game during Tom Osbourne's last season.

Those are memories that can only happen once in a lifetime and sharing them with someone else makes them even better.

This is dedicated to you Dad. You gave me a sports education that turned into an education in life and for that I am eternally grateful.

Happy Father's Day, Dad.

Back to the Ballpark

In the early 90's the year consisted of two parts: hockey season and baseball season. One half of the year for hockey and the other half of the year was baseball. It was great.

I spent my falls and winters watching as much hockey as possible and playing as often as I could with the other kids in the neighborhood. My house became the Madison Square Gardens of the Sleepy Hollow area. We happened to be the only people with a working goal.

Once the spring came the transition from hockey to baseball began. Being a Texas Rangers fan in the 90's was very easy, we had Nolan Ryan. I'll never forget some of the games I saw as a small child in the stands of the old Ranger stadium.

My dad, my brother and I would head over to Arlington and park the car a few blocks a way from the stadium. Back then you could bring your own cooler into the park, the only catch was that you had to buy a ticket for it if it was a larger one. I'm not sure how this happened but we never bought four tickets to a game. I guess since I was so small they were okay with me sitting on the cooler. Apparently the cooler was worth more to the park than a tiny little 6-year-old boy with binoculars.

When Ryan threw his sixth no-hitter; I was there.

When Robin Ventura charged the mound after Ryan nailed him with a pitch; I was there.

Despite the history I had with baseball and the love I had for the game it slowly ebbed away after my family moved to Nebraska. I watched LSU in the College World Series but that was about as much into baseball as I got.

Sixteen years later and the itch is back. I started attending the local San Antonio Missions games and I even bought a MLB.tv account so I can watch the games on my computer.

As last season ended and this year's began the most curious thing happened...

I found myself watching one team a lot more than another. I was not watching any Rangers games - the games are blacked out with the online service and I do not actually have regular cable TV at home - I was watching the New York Mets.

I have no way of explaining this phenomenon.

So here I am sixteen years removed from the sport I used to love as a child but now I'm following a new team.

In a way it makes sense.

When I was a child I was too young to really know the intricacies of the game or even most of the players on the Rangers roster. Most if not all of the players I knew as a kid have left the game. It almost seems fitting that with a my interest in baseball being reborn that a new team should come with it.

I do find a slight bit of irony in my new team being the team that originally drafted my all-time favorite player.

With any luck I will see my first Mets game in person when the Astros host the Mets in late July.

Boston to host next Winter Classic?

Fenway Park could play host to the next NHL Winter Classic according to a Red Sox source and ESPN. This can only be more good news for the NHL's best advertising agent and possibly one of it's best ideas.

Boston is a high profile sports city and the inclusion of an NHL game played inside Fenway would be an instant hit for not only the cities involved but the league, as well.

I've always been a fan of the winter classic and each successive outing has outdone the previous one in some way. The first outdoor NHL game, held in Edmonton, was not part of the Winter Classic proved to be fun, albeit really cold. The second, in Buffalo, New York; was a great game with snow falling during the National Anthem and a shootout finish. The game was played in the Buffalo Bills football stadium. The third outdoor game was probably the best of the bunch, featuring the Detroit Red Wings playing the Chicago Blackhawks at Wrigley Field.

If it is now a foregone conclusion that the next Winter Classic is going to be played in Beantown then the next question is who the Bruins will be playing. Obviously, the best choice would be one of the other Original Six teams. Chicago and Detroit played last year so they should be ruled out, Toronto and Boston wouldn't be a really interesting matchup and I am really holding out for a winter classic between Montreal and Colorado (playing in Nordiques sweaters, of course), so that really leaves just the Rangers.

Would this be a good matchup? Yes.

The Rangers and Bruins have a long history together and have created a great rivalry over the years, doesn't every New York and Boston team have rivalry?

The Rangers, currently ranked seventh in the east, could potentially play the Bruins in the first round of the playoffs if the Rangers drop their last game in Philidelphia and the Canadiens win out against the Penguins.

Regardless of who the Bruins end up playing there is no doubt that the Winter Classic is the most rejuvenating event in hockey. The fans love it, players have said they love it, the league has to love the revenue in it. How much cash game into the NHL from the profits of all the limited edition Wrigley Field NHL merchandise last year? There's just an infinite amount of potential for growth in the Winter Classic.

My personal vote for the game will always be a game in Denver. Close your eyes and picture this.

It's New Year's Day, the cold air swirls around in the packed bleacher seats in Mile High stadium. The Canadiens take the ice first and begin their skate around wearing the classic Habs jerseys we all know and love. The announcer comes on to welcome the home team.

"Ladie's and Gentleman put your hands together for...the Nordiques!"

The Avalanche players skate out dressed in full in class Quebec Nordiques unis. This has been a dream of mine for about two years now and I really would love to see it become a reality. The Canadiens and Nordiques had a great rivalry years ago. That same rivalry got a new spark when St. Patrick asked to be traded to the Nordiques and then the team moved to Denver.

I can't be the only person who wants to see this.

Other matchups that would be fun to see: Phoenix versus Carolina dressed in Winnipeg Jets and Hartford Whalers colors; Dallas versus Minnesota, has a lot of interesting potential since the Stars came to Texas from Minnesota; Toronto against any southern team would work too.

There's just something almost magical and surreal about professional hcokey being played outside in the open. Regardless who the Bruins play the game will probably be a classic as will the next games after that.

Greatest Goalie of All Time: For Now

In a strange twist of fate the duel for the crown of Greatest Goaltender of All Time was ended on March 17, 2009. Martin Brodeur had broken Patrick Roy's record for most all time wins for a goaltender. Brodeur earned number 552 with a 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.

Brodeur broke St. Patrick's record on St. Patrick's day and fittingly enough Roy was on hand for the tying game against his form team, the Montreal Canadiens, on March 14.

Brodeur has played 17 season in the NHL, all with the New Jersey Devils, and looks to have the gas for at least two more. This makes the likelihood of the bar being raised even higher more of a reality.

Brodeur has averaged 32 wins a season over his career and if he does retire in two seasons will likely total roughly 600-620 wins over his career. Brodeur would also be 38 upon his retirement.

This is a huge record that will remain standing for quite a long time. Among the current crop of top flight goaltenders there is really no stand-out rival to Brodeur. Many of his colleagues are sitting in the 300-400 wins column. The closest active player to Brodeur is Curtis Joseph of the Maple Leafs with 453 wins. Joseph, 41, will probably only play a couple more seasons as well and will finish his carreer with around 475 wins.

The question is, who could possibly break this record?

Realistically, there is not any player who could currently challenge Brodeur's potential 600 plus wins.

If I had to choose someone to do it though I would put my money on the rookie netminder for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Steve Mason.

Mason, only 20, has played 53 games for the Blue Jackets this season and racked up a respectable 31 wins as well as a league leading 10 shutouts on the season.

Could this young man be the next Brodeur?

Theoretically? Yes.

If Mason were to keep up his current win percentage then he could break Marty's record.

Let us delve into the realm of theory and what ifs to see the potential that Mason could have.

In his first season he has gained 31 wins, multiply that by the 17 seasons that Brodeur has played and you have 527 wins. This falls 23 wins short of Brodeur's current record.

On first glance this doesn't bode well for the rookie, but Mason has only played in 53 games this season. Most top tier goalies play around 70 games a year. To accomadte this we will take Mason's win percentage, 58%, and run the numbers with that. That brings us to a staggering 702 projected carreer wins in a whopping 1120 games played. Those would both be massive and potentially unbeatable records.

Those numbers could be highly skewed so lets just say he playes 60 games a year, that is still a projected 610 wins and a potential record.

If Brodeur were to play to 19 or even 20 seasons I would expect him to hit around 610 wins if not more.

If Mason were to play 19 or 20 seasons we might see him break 650 wins.

Of course all of this is hypothetical. Mason has played almost a full season and played very solid hockey. Could he break Marty's record? I don't know, but the chance is there. If he can keep up his production or even get better we could see Mason's name placed among the pantheon of goaltending.

As an aside, Brodeur is just three shutouts away from breaking Terry Sawchuck's record of 103 carreer shutouts. Mason has 10 this season. Think about that one.

For the Alamo!

The soccer team I do some freelance work for finished off their perfect regular season this past Sunday and as usual I wrote a story for the website for it.  The following is the complete posting.

Alamo SC Sweeps Inaugural Season

Alamo SC defeated the Dallas-Fort Worth Tornados 8 – 6 on Sunday, February 8^th to complete an undefeated regular season.

This victory is Alamo SC's ninth in a row and comes off the heels of a 5 – 3 victory of the Dallas Outlaws Reserve to clinch the PASL-Premier South-Central Division title.

“This has truly been a dream season,” said Coach Lance Noble after the victory. “To come out as an expansion team and be undefeated says a lot.”

Alamo ran the table this season and amassed the highest goal differential in the league at 56. This season the boys from the south have outscored opponents 88 to 32.

Noble attributes the teams success to an “unbelievable work ethic” and many late nights at practice and in training.

Alamo's leading scorer, Forward Balta (Hanna) Peral, tallied 24 goals for his team and has the potential to be the top goal scorer in the league.

“It feels good,” said Peral. “We've had a great season. We had some struggles with some of us playing our first season indoors at the semi-pro level.”

Alamo's defense has been a major factor in their success with the mantra that “defense wins championships” playing a large role.

Lance Key(DF), Matt Gross(GK), Josh Smith(MF), Kyle Altman(DF) and Pete Palomino(DF) make up what Noble considers to be “the best defensive unit in the PASL.”

The Tornados came to San Antonio looking to put at least one tally in Alamo's L column with a good start by scoring with 10:15 left in the first period.

Alamo responded with two goals from Smith with 8:56 remaining and again at 1:15. Nicos Esquivel scored with 5:46 left in the first.

The home team kept up the pace set in the first with a goal from Enrigue Serda who substituted in when Jose Esparza looked injured after a collision.

The Tornados were penalized shortly after for a slide outside the box by their goalkeeper. Alamo was unable to succeed in scoring during the power play but was able to slip one past with 7:57 remaining to put the home side up 5 – 2.

Dallas struck back within the next minute to bring the score to 5 – 3 with 6:57 remaining in the half.

Neither team was able to breach the other’s defenses and the score remained 5 – 3 going into the locker room.

Members of the Alamo SC coaching staff paid tribute to their sponsors during the break. Autographed team pictures were given to sponsors: Aztec Indoor Soccer, Catz and Kalmar.

Noble thanked the sponsors for their generous support and commitment to helping Alamo SC become the team they are.

Play resumed with each team’s offense trying to find a hole in the defenses.

Robbie DeBaca found a hole past the Tornados Goalkeeper at the 12:46 mark and brought Alamo to a 6 – 2 lead.

Dallas looked well rested after the half and attacked with a renewed intensity putting 2 more goals past Cross at 9:49 and 2:51 to put the Tornados within 2 at 6 – 4.

The fourth quarter saw more fierce action and the play of the game.

Nat Zuniga caught a high ball and managed to score his first header of the season.

“I can’t describe how it felt,” said Zuniga. “To get a goal like that and get the reaction from my team and the crowd.”

Key put one in on a penalty kick with 7:35 remaining to put the home side up by four but Dallas would not go down without a fight and put two more points on the board. It would not be enough to pull off the upset and Alamo went on to win 8 – 6.

With Alamo SC's perfect regular season finished the team now looks forward to the playoffs and a chance to compete in Las Vegas.

“We have home field through the playoffs,” said Key. That will help the team as Key still feels there needs to be some more work done. “We've been too frantic at the start [of games] and that has worked against us.”

Alamo SC will meet their first playoff opponent, Tyler Threat, Sunday, February 15^th at 2:00 p.m. at Aztec Indoor Soccer.

Welcome to Pittsburgh: Population Six

The Pittsburgh Steelers have made history!

With a 27-23 victory over the Arizona Cardinals the Steelers won their record-breaking sixth Super Bowl.

For a game that was initially billed as a landslide defeat for the Cardinals they proved that they belonged in that game.  Coach Ken Whisenhunt's boys showed the world that the Cards are no longer a team destined for losing seasons and a permanent fixture in the dregs of the NFL.

Many sports websites are billing this as the greatest Super Bowl of all time but I am not ready to bestow that honor to this game just yet.  The kneejerk reaction is to call it that based on it being an exciting game.  Last year's Super Bowl and the Giants amazing march up the field and subsequent touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Plaxico Burress was the Greatest Super Bowl Ever! as well.

There is not doubt that it was a great game.

In the first qurater Pittsburgh's offense looked like it would walk all over Arizona.  Things quickly changed in the Red Zone.  The cardinals were able to keep the Steelers from picking up seven points on the touchdown (with the help of a challenge from Whisenhunt) and force the steelers to take a field goal instead.

At this point in the game I would have really gone for it.  Why?

A) It's the Super Bowl.

B) It's fourth and an index finger to the goal line.  If Big Ben would have called the snap and just dove under Justin Hartwig the first drive would have given the Steelers a 7-0 lead.

C) If above scenario fails no biggie.  Arizona has to play the balle from the goal line.  You have the number one defense in the country.  There's a strong chance they could have gotten a safety.  2-0 is not as much as 3-0 but they would have gotten the ball back too.

Arizona's first possesion is three and out.  Everything's coming up Steelers.

First quarter ends.  Steelers up 3-0 and they still have possession of the ball.

Once again the Steelers march up the field and get to the one.  The difference now is that they give the ball to Gary Russell to run it in.  Success! Pittsburgh touchdown.  With the extra point it's 10-0 Steelers.

On the next drive Kurt Warner gets his boys working and brings them all the way to the Red Zone.  The Cards respond with a pass to Tight End Ben Patrick for the touchdown.

Sidenote: Ben Patrick caught the TD to seal the trip to the Super Bowl for Arizona.

Now it's a game 10-7 Pittsburgh.

The next two possesions are punts for both teams.

Pittsburgh's ball and Big Ben gets a pass deflected high in the air that drops into the waiting hands of Arizona Tackle Karlos Dansby for Super Bowl XLIII's first turnover.

With time running down in the half the Cardinals begin to move the ball forward from the Pittsburgh 34.

Again the drive comes down to the 1-yard line.  Kurt Warner makes a quick pass intended for Anquan Boldin but it doesn't get there.  It's picked off by James Harrison who procedes to run all 100 yards to deposit the ball in the Pittsburgh endzone.  The longest play in Super Bowl history.  Steelers record numero uno.

Steelers up 17-7 at the half.

Queue The Boss and some other non-interesting Super Bowl halftime stuff....

Third quarter here we go.

Arizona starts off with the ball and during the drive it appears that James Farrior has forced a fumble from Kurt Warner.  Whisenhunt's been lucky with hes red rag today and tosses it out again.  The fumble is reversed and Arizona keeps possession.  The only problem is that was third down and now they're punting.

Pittsburgh again brings the drive to the goaline and again has to settle for a field goal.  Arizona is showing the world that they do actually have a real defensive unit.

Steelers 20 - Arizona 7.

Arizona takes the ball back and finishes out the third and moves into the fourth quarter with the ball.  They're forced to punt as is Pittsburgh on their next drive.

This is where the game gets really, really good.

Anyone watching the game has probably noticed that Larry Fitzgerald has down absolutely nothing thus far in the game.  Until now....

Warner connects with Fitzgerald four times in the drive and culminates it with a 1-yard touchdown pass.

Arizona's back in the game again 20-14.

Steelers go three and out and Arizona gets the ball back but is forced to punt.  The Steelers pick up a really big penalty from James Harrison (who goes from MVP in the first half to most hated guy at the Super Bowl in the second) and have to start from their own six inch line.

This is what Pittsburgh should have forced Arizona to do in the first quarter.  Pittsburgh is pinned down in the endzone but it appears that Big Ben makes the first down with a pass to Santonio Holmes but there are flags on the play.  Steeler penalty in the endzone. Safety.

20-16.  Arizona ball.

Warner's first pass is incomplete to Boldin.  His second the Fitzgerald is not.  Fitzgerald runs through the relatively empty Steelers back line and scores a 64-yard touchdown that would seem to have won them the game.

20-23 Arizona's on top now.

The Steelers get the ball and have 2:30 left on the clock.  Big Ben begins the drive and with a little help from Holmes(and three personal fouls on Arizona) that ends up at Arizona's six.  The first pass to Holmes is a no go but the second is a thing of beauty that ultimately seals the deal for Pittsburgh.  Holmes catches the ball in the back right corner of the endzone with three defenders on him and still manages to get his tiptoes on the turf.

Steelers up 27-23.

Arizona has 0:29 on the clock to do what Pittsburgh just did.  The drive starts okay but Whisenhunt's red rag luck runs out as the officials determine that Warner has in fact fumbled the ball.  The Steelers take a knee and that's the game.

The Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl.  Record numero dos.

The Steelers coach Mike Tomlin becomes the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl as well.  Record numero tres.

Is that the greatest Super Bowl ever? Only time will tell.  For now it was definately the best game of the season.

--Photo from www.nfl.com

See you in Tampa

The last bell has rung and the fat lady has sung her last note.

The NFL Season has came down to one more game and two teams.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals punched their tickets to Super Bowl XLIII Sunday the 18th.

Arizona showed that the Warner-Fitzgerald tandem is arguably one of the best in football with a decisive win over the Philidelphia Eagles 32-25.

Kurt Warner connected to Fitzgerald three times in the first half for touchdowns, including one spectacular flee-flicker play in the second quarter for a 62-yard touchdown.

Point of note: If the opposing team is feeling loose enough and confident enough to run a play remotely resembling something you yourself did as a twelve year old in the empty lot then they are definately in control of the game and playing way better than you.

There is something almost magical about Larry Fitzgerald and his hands. He has to be factored into the same conversation as players like Jerry Rice and Michael Irvin.

On the flip side of the coin the Pittsburgh Steelers won the AFC Championship with a win over their bitter divisional rivals, the Baltimore Ravens, 23-14.  This game was billed as a marquee match-up of the NFL's 1st ranked defense and its 2nd.

Unfortunately for the Ravens they walked away empty handed.  Their, thus far, unflappable rooking quarterback, Joe Flacco, began playing like a rookie for the first time this season.  Against the Titans and Dolphins Flacco was performing rather well completing 20 of 45 passes as well as not throwing a single interception.  The highly touted Steelers defense managed to keep Flacco to 13 of 30 as well as forcing three fumbles and three interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown by Pittsburgh safety Troy Polamalu.

Ladies and Gentleman your 2009 Super Bowl.

The NFL's 2nd best passing offense against the 1st rate passing defense.

My pick: Pittsburgh Steelers with the MVP going to Hines Ward.

Score: 27-17

As ESPN Page 2 columnist, Gregg Easterbrook, points out the winner may be decided by the Steelers mediocre offense or the Cardinals occasionally impressive defense.  During the regular season the Cardinals performed rather poorly in protecting the pass.  With two great receivers in Santonio Holmes and Hines Ward I am putting my money on the Steelers.

--Photo from www.nfl.com